Although a tremendous amount of literature on the methodology of hadith is available in Arabic, this book has been written to fulfil the needs of modern college students whose medium of instruction is mainly English.

The book has been divided into two parts. In Part One, the subject of Hadith Methodology has been dealt with. In Part Two, the author discusses the literature, introducing the Six Principal Books as well as six others which had great significance and represent a stage in the compilation of Hadith books.

The author hopes that through careful reading, it would eliminate most of the doubts which have been created, deliberately or out of ignorance, by Orientalists and others and would provide basic knowledge of the subject. This book is an excellent source of in-depth study of the role of ahadith
in the first years of Islam.

Table of Contents :

---Introduction,

Part One : Hadith Methodology

---[1]. Hadith : Its Meaning, Concept and Authority, -------The word Hadith and its meaning,-------Usage of the word Hadith in the Qur'an,-------Usage of the word Hadith in the Sayings of the Prophet,ﷺ,-------The term Hadith and its meaning according to Muhaddithin and Jurists,-------The word Sunnah, its meaning and different usage,-------The authority of the Prophet, ﷺ,-------Prophet Muhammad, ﷺ, and his position according to the Qur'an,---------a. Expounder of the Qur'an,---------b. Legislator,---------c. Model Behaviour for Muslim Society,---------d. Total Obedience to the Prophet, ﷺ,'-------Sunnah of the Prophet,ﷺ,---[2]. The Prophet,ﷺ, and his Hadiths, Teaching, Learning & Diffusion,-------Transmission of the Hadith of the Prophet, ﷺ,-------Teaching of the Hadiths by the Prophet, ﷺ,-------Measures taken by the Prophet, ﷺ, for the Diffusion of Sunnah,--------1. Establishment of schools,--------2. Directions about diffusion of knowledge,--------3. Creation of incentive for teachers and students,-------How the Sunnah of the Prophet, ﷺ, was received by the Companions,-------Companions' learning of the Hadith,-------Learning of Hadith in the period of the Companions,-------Official Patronage for the Teaching of the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet, ﷺ,-------Non-official activities,---[3]. Tahammul al-Ilm : Carrying of Knowledge of Hadith,-------Learning of Hadith in Early Days,-------1. Sama : Reading by the teacher to students,---------Oral recitation of hadiths by the teacher,---------Reading from books,---------Questions and Answers,---------Dictating the hadiths,-------2. 'Ard : Reading to teachers,-------3. Ijazah : Permission,-------4. Munawalah : Handing the book to a student,-------5. Kitabah : Correspondence,-------6. I'lam : To inform about hadiths,-------7. Wasiyyah : To entrust,-------8. Wajadah : Without permission,-------Terms used to describe transmission of Hadiths,-------Certificate of Reading,-------The Ages of Students,-------The Number of Students,---[4]. Recording of Hadiths,-------Recording of Hadiths in the Life of the Prophet, ﷺ, and the Companions,--------Abu Hurayrah, radi Allahu anhu,--------Ibn Umar, radi Allahu anhu,--------Anas b. Malik, radi Allahu anhu,--------'A'ishah, radi Allahu anha,--------Ibn Abbas, radi Allahu anhu,--------Jabir b. Abdullah, radi Allahu anhu,--------Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, radi Allahu anhu,--------Ibn Mas'ud, radi Allahu anhu,--------'Abdullah b. 'Amr b. al-'As, radi Allahu anhu,--------The second Caliph, 'Umar b. al-Khattab, radi Allahu anhu,--------The fourth Caliph, 'Ali b. Abi Talib, radi Allahu anhu,--------Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, radi Allahu anhu,--------Al-Bara' b. 'Azib, radi Allahu anhu,-------Misunderstanding about the recording of Hadith,-------The Hadith against writing down the Hadiths,-------Misinterpretation of early scholars' statements,---------Some examples,---[5]. Isnad System (Chain of Transmitters)-------Origins of Isnad,-------The Proliferation of Isnad,---------Examples,---------Diagrams,-------Isnad and its Impact on Classification of Hadiths,---------Mutawatir,---------Ahad,-------Al-Hadith al-Qudsi,---[6]. Hadith Criticism : History and Methodology,-------Forgery and Errors in Transmitting of Hadiths,-------Naqd al-Hadith : Criticism of Hadith,-------Beginning of Criticism,-------Methodology of Hadith Criticism,-------Criticising Hadith by Comparison between the Hadiths of Different Students of the same Scholar,-------Abu Bakr, radi Allahu anhu, and the Comparison of Statements,-------'Umar, radi Allahu anhu, and Comparison,-------Abu Hurayrah, radi Allahu anhu, and Comparison,-------Example of the Comparisons of the Statement of a Scholar after a Gap of Time,-------Comparison between Written Documents and Hadiths transmitted from Memory,-------Comparing the Hadith with Related Verses of the Qur'an,-------Rational Approach in Hadith Criticism,---[7]. Grading of Scholars and its Impact on Grading of Hadith,-------Grading of Hadith,-------Requirements for Hadith Sahih (authentic Hadith),---------Hadith hasan li dhatih,---------Hadith hasan li ghayrih,-------Rejected Hadiths,----------1. Rejection owing to defect in narrator,----------2. Weakness owing to discontinuity of Isnad,----------3. Weakness owing to some incidental reasons,---[8]. Fabrication of Hadith : Causes and Means of Elimination,-------Intentional Fabrication of Hadith,-------Unintentional Fabrication of Hadith,-------Means for Detection of Fabrication in Hadith,-------Literature on spurious Hadiths.